LOL: charitybuzz | #306802 - LIVE BID! Spend the Day in LA with Tesla Founder Elon Musk Current bid: $15,000 The auction will run until "4PM EST on Thursday, May 17, 2012". What's your guess will be the final bid?
That's pretty frickin cool. I'm going to guess it'll top 100k, and depending on who gets interested... 250?
I cannot imagine anyone bidding $100,000. I could see a day with Elon as a "sweetener" for investing $100,000 or $250,000 in Tesla stock or corporate bonds. I think he's a cool guy, but this is making him out to be a cult figure. If the current bid is $15,000 I could see it going to $25,000 maybe, but I'd guess $20,000. I see the big draw primarily as the tour of the facilities, and secondarily as the time with Elon. As far as a ride in his Roadster, that's no biggie, since I have a Roadster of my own. I actually think a better offer would be to have an engineer at each facility do the tour, and then have lunch with Elon so I could say I'd met him. As far as a day in L.A., breathing smog for a day is not my idea of fun.
Whoops, didn't see the estimated value at 100k, so on point there. With enough attention, I could see some big money getting wind and driving the price up, though if they're that big, they might be able to get elon time sans auction.
I just noticed this: That changes things, since you're not paying Elon or Tesla for the day, you're donating to charity, and getting the day as a perk. And the on-line auction is just a prelude to the live auction. But you can enter a "maximum bid" and they'll bid on your behalf, so you don't have to be there. If the attendees are big philanthropists who support the named charities, then I could see AnOutsider's predictions being a good call. I'd want to know what they've gotten in the past for a day with a celebrity.
Now at $16,000. There are lots of other well-known and not so well-known celebrities participating in making similar offers, some for the same causes, some for other causes.
I think he'd find it amusing that someone was willing to place a winning bid, just to tell him that he ought to incorporate a make-believe time-travel device and a make-believe nuclear power plant in his cars. He's obviously a pretty decent guy, to be willing to donate a day of his busy time for charity, so I bet he'd play along.
Still @ 17k... Maybe it won't be going anywhere afterall... I do feel for the guy though if he gets stuck with someone talking his ear off and pitching business ideas all day -- though, I guess he would have known that was a possibility from the gate.
I doubt the winning bid will be someone who just wants to spend the day pitching ideas. The nut jobs who seriously think they have an idea worth anything to Tesla or Space X are not likely to have that kind of money to throw around. A more likely worst-case is a bore. And Elon must be prepared for that possibility. It's possible that the real bidding will be at the live auction. I admit I'm very curious what the winning bid will be. Service center in Spokane, PLEASE!!!!!!